Chapter 12 - THE OFFERChase finally reached Aaron by using a number he wasn't supposed to have.
Aaron answered because the caller ID showed a local business line.
“Whitcomb.”
“Aaron.”
He recognized the voice immediately.
“How did you get this number?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
Chase sighed.
“One of your old conference contacts.”
“Don't call it again.”
“Wait.”
Aaron was standing outside Milo's school.
Pickup began in six minutes.
He almost hung up.
Then Chase said, “I want to solve this.”
Aaron glanced toward the entrance.
“What does solve mean to you?”
“I pay your son.”
“No.”
“You don't even know the amount.”
“That doesn't change the answer.”
“Half a million dollars.”
Aaron said nothing.
Chase mistook the silence.
“In a trust. Tax planning handled. Your lawyer can structure it.”
“No.”
“Aaron, be reasonable.”
“I am.”
“Your son will have half a million dollars because of one slap.”
Aaron's voice cooled.
“You keep saying things that explain why this is not resolved.”
“What do you want?”
“For you to understand what you did.”
“I lost my temper.”
“You struck a child.”
“Because he—”
Aaron closed his eyes.
“There.”
“What?”
“You did it again.”
“Did what?”
“Turned your apology into an argument about why he caused it.”
Chase paced in his office.
“He did cause the situation.”
“He caused broken glass.”
“Same event.”
“No. Same afternoon.”
Chase laughed bitterly.
“So you're going to destroy my company until I say the exact words you want?”
Aaron looked toward the school.
Children were beginning to emerge.
“My firm hasn't rejected your investment.”
“Yet.”
“I've removed myself from the final vote.”
Silence.
Chase stopped walking.
“You did what?”
“You heard me.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a personal conflict.”
Chase hadn't expected that.
“You're not voting?”
“No.”
“Then stop the review.”
“I can't.”
“You started it.”
“I accelerated it.”
“Same thing.”
“No. The issues are yours.”
Chase's temper rose.
“You think you're better than me because you dress like a suburban dad while sitting on billions?”
Aaron's face remained still.
“This isn't about how I dress.”
“It absolutely is.”
“No. You made it about how I dressed.”
Children flooded the sidewalk.
Aaron spotted Milo.
“I’m hanging up.”
“Wait.”
“No.”
“What do I need to say to fix this?”
Aaron watched his son jogging toward him.
“That's the problem, Chase.”
“What?”
“You're still trying to find the price.”
He ended the call.
Milo reached him.
“Who was that?”
“Work.”
“You made your angry face.”
Aaron smiled.
“I have an angry face?”
“You get quiet.”
“Interesting.”
Milo climbed into the car.
At home, Claire was reading the latest correspondence.
“He offered half a million?”
“Yes.”
“For Milo?”
“For silence, mostly.”
Claire stared at the number.
“We obviously don't need it.”
“That's irrelevant.”
“I know.”
She put down the papers.
“What if we did take damages and donate them?”
“Possible.”
“But?”
“But I'd rather resolve based on what helps Milo, not what hurts Chase.”
Claire leaned back.
“Have you asked Milo?”
“Not about money.”
“Maybe ask him what he wants from Chase.”
Aaron frowned.
“He's eight.”
“Exactly. His answer may be simpler than ours.”
That evening, they sat with Milo in the living room.
Aaron kept it straightforward.
“The man from the restaurant wants to apologize.”
Milo's face changed.
“Do I have to see him?”
“No.”
“Do I have to forgive him?”
“No.”
Milo looked relieved.
Claire asked, “What would you want him to say?”
Milo considered it.
“I don't know.”
“That's okay.”
A long silence.
Then Milo said, “I want him to stop saying I deserved it.”
Aaron and Claire exchanged a look.
Milo continued.
“Because if he says sorry but says I made him do it, then he's not sorry.”
Claire's eyes softened.
“No,” she said. “He isn't.”
Milo tucked his legs underneath him.
“And I don't want his money.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
“You know about that?”
“I heard Mom say half a million in the kitchen.”
Claire covered her face.
“Again, information security.”
Milo almost smiled.
Then he grew serious.
“Can he buy not being wrong?”
“No,” Aaron said.
“Good.”
The next morning, Aaron relayed Milo's answer to Rebecca.
She was silent for several seconds.
“Your son is clearer than most clients.”
“Don't tell him that. He'll start billing hourly.”
Rebecca laughed.
Then her tone changed.
“I have news.”
“What?”
“Barron's board received the preliminary independent review.”
“And?”
“It’s worse than we thought.”
Aaron felt his stomach tighten.
“Financial?”
“Partly.”
“What else?”
Rebecca took a breath.
“There are allegations that Chase retaliated against employees who questioned expenses.”
“Credible?”
“Very.”
Aaron looked toward Milo's closed bedroom door.
May you like
The broken glass outside Bellavere was beginning to look less like the beginning of the story.
And more like the moment somebody finally looked through the window.
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